Bishop Chatard (12-8) fell short of its primary goal -- a sectional title -- but made a lot of progress in rebuilding a program with only two players who had varsity experience.

"Obviously, our major goal was to win the sectional, and we came up a little short," said coach Chris Quinn, who acknowledged a disciplinary action before the 55-50 loss to Whiteland in the first round of the 3A Whiteland Sectional.

"Overall, I think we had a great year with not a lot of scoring returning to our lineup. The players worked hard and had great attitudes. It was a great group of kids to be around."

A deep core of returning players is led by Tyler Kleinschmidt. The team's second-leading scorer (10.8) got off to a slow start after football season then averaged 13.3 points in leading the team to six victories in its last eight games after a 6-6 start. Joe Holland, the only other player with varsity experience, also is expected to return.

Quinn received a lot of production from sophomores as forward Daryn Hightower averaged five points and five rebounds, guard Jimmy Kennedy averaged seven points, and Dan Kleinschmidt filled in at guard. The Trojans' junior varsity team went 20-2.

"We're not pleased with the final result, but with the inexperience we had we think it was a very successful year," Quinn said. "It was the most fun we've ever had coaching a team, and next year we should be much improved."